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Briton claims duped of £80,000 by Kashmiri boyfriend

Srinagar, May 23, 2008:

A British divorcee says she can lose her house after she was duped to 80,000 pounds by her Kashmiri boyfriend she met in the Indian tourist resort Goa.

Sarah Matheson, a 54-year-old divorcee, told the British tabloid Daily Mail that she handed over a cheque of £80,000 to her Kashmiri boyfriend Farooq, to help him "support his business".

Out of £80,000, Matheson had raised £60,000 from a loan secured against her detached four-bedroom house in Surrey.

"He was so very persuasive and plausible, saying that it was almost impossible to borrow money in India and that this money would not only secure our futures but that he would pay me back in full. I was in love, and looking through rose-tinted glasses," Matheson told the Daily Mail.

The Mail reported that Sarah is back alone, in Surrey. There is no lover with the soulful eyes and promise of a sun-drenched romantic future. Instead, she has letters from her mortgage and loan company telling her that she must pay the arrears or she will be evicted from her home.

In tears, she says, "I cannot believe I fell for this. It is a scam, an absolute con. The reason I am speaking out about what is a deeply shameful episode in my life is that I desperately want to warn other women like me that you must not fall for this trick.

"It will ruin your life. If I could, I would put leaflets on the planes flying to holiday destinations like Goa, warning women to beware."

Matheson had arranged a visa for her boyfriend, and it was when she got calls from other women asking her advise on how to arrange visas for Indian boyfriends, she grew suspicious.